Aiur
Protoss Empire (~500—2500) Zerg Swarm (2500) Daggoth's Renegade Zerg (2500) Zerg Swarm (2500—) *Shel'na Kryhas (2500—2503) *Tal'darim (?—2503) *Isolated pockets of survivors (2500—) |population=2504 – Est. 5 billion+ zerg; unknown pockets of protoss survivorsBlizzard Entertainment. 2010-07-24. Koprulu Sector Systems: Aiur. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2010-07-24. |capital= |settlements=*Estimated 38 protoss temples (destroyed) *5 major cities (destroyed) *2,000 minor settlements (destroyed) *Estimated 65 primary zerg hive clusters *Estimated 289 secondary zerg hive clusters *Estimated 600 tertiary zerg hive clusters |platforms= |imports= |exports= |status=Zerg infested world }} Aiur is the homeworld of the protoss,Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. located in a star system with a single yellow star and possessing a single moon not unlike Luna.Golden, Christie. StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #1: Firstborn. Pocket Star Books, May 2007. ISBN 0-7434-7125-3. It is at least the third of the system's terrestrial planets, if not further out.Corey Konieczka, Robert A. Kouba, Dan Clark (December 17, 2008). StarCraft: The Board Game: Brood War. Fantasy Flight Games. ASIN 1589945034 History Aiur is a huge world located on the fringes of the Milky Way Galaxy. It was engineered by the xel'naga and left to itself for a long period of time. When the xel'naga returned, they discovered the protoss on the world. They guided protoss evolution, albeit too fast. As a result, they were forced to flee, and the protoss fell into a racial madness-fueled conflict called the Aeon of Strife. When the xel'naga were forced to flee the world, they left behind large amounts of khaydarin crystals. Aiur was devastated in the Aeon of Strife but after the period ended, it began to steadily recover. The Fall Aiur was populated by billions of protoss before its fall.Kindregan, Brian T. "Mothership." (January 15, 2010). Blizzard Entertainment. Mothership Accessed 2010-01-15. Aiur was attacked by the zerg Swarm in an attempt to destroy the entire protoss species, as per the Dark Voice's plan. The Overmind was destroyed by the mighty high templar Tassadar, who sacrificed his life in a kamikaze strike using dark templar energy.Underwood, Peter, Chris Metzen and Bill Roper. StarCraft: Brood War (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. It was a pyrrhic victory at best. 70% of the population was dead. The planet was thoroughly infested and much if the landscape ruined.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Cinematic: Epilogue (in English). 1998. Abandonment The planet was abandoned shortly thereafter through a warp gate which connected to the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Escape from Aiur (in English). 1998. Hundreds of thousands of protoss died during the evacuation. Some protoss were stranded on Aiur,Golden, Christie (November 27, 2007). StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #2: Shadow Hunters. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-7434-7126-1. and others volunteered to remain behind in order to defend the Aiur end of the warp gate.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Dunes of Shakuras (in English). 1998. The warp gate was destroyed when the United Earth Directorate invaded Aiur in their quest to arrest Terran Dominion emperor Arcturus Mengsk.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Emperor's Flight (in English). 1998. The stranded protoss belonged to several groups; one led by Fenix and Jim Raynor, as well as the Shel'na Kryhas and the Tal'darim. The latter, serving a mysterious Benefactor, learned strange powers. The protoss refugees on Shakuras made at least one trip to Aiur to recover wounded protoss warriors.StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Enslavers: Dark Vengeance bonus campaign, episode I: "The Rescue" (in English). 1999-02-05. StarCraft Map Archives Protoss commanders noticed stranded protoss but, believing they could not be rescued, kept their existence secret. The Interbellum Around 2503, the zerg occupiers had stopped fighting each other, but had stopped spawing and continued to wander the planet like "discarded tools".Golden, Christie. StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Shadow Hunters. Pocket Star Books, November 27, 2007. ISBN 0-7434-7126-1. The stranded protoss divided into two factions—Shel'na Kryhas and Tal'darim— and clung to life on the ruined world, fighting and avoiding conflict with the zerg. The arrival of a preserver, contained within the brain of terran archaeologist Jake Ramsey, brought great changes to both groups of protoss. The former attempted to flee through the disabled (and then repaired) warp gate, while the latter splintered as they learned the truth behind their mysterious Benefactor. The Shel'na Kryhas and renegade Tal'darim banded together to attack the Benefactor, most giving up their lives using a powerful psionic technique to hold the Benefactor off.Golden, Christie. StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Shadow Hunters. Pocket Star Books, November 27, 2007. ISBN 0-7434-7126-1. Some of the renegade Tal'darim escaped but none of the Shel'na Kryhas made it. The remaining Tal'darim were attacked by zerg forces led by Ethan Stewart, who was seeking to use the gate and then find Ulrezaj. Ulrezaj absorbed some of his own followers to recharge his power before leaving in a xel'naga vessel, pursued by the zerg and Dominion.Golden, Christie (June 30, 2009). StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #3: Twilight. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0-7434-7129-9. Some observers remained behind from the evacuation to keep watch.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Echoes of the Future (in English). 2010-07-27. The zerg scoured almost all non-zerg life from several continents. The jungles were littered with ash, broken war machines, and corpses.2008-06-29. Samwise Didier, Dave Bergain. WWI 08 Coverage - StarCraft II Art Panel. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2008-06-29. Nova was sent to infiltrate protoss facilities on the planet.The Art of Johnnie H. Estill II, Digital Paintings. Accessed on 2009-06-03 The Second Great War On the eve of the Second Great War, Zeratul returned to Aiur seeking clarification to a prophecy. He communed with the dead Overmind's cortex via Tassadar's spirit and learned of an impending apocalypse. Psionic Matrix Protoss structures and units, to a lesser extent, draw their energy from a great psionic energy matrix that emanates from Aiur. This energy can be linked to a nexus, but khaydarin crystal-based pylons are needed to actually tap into the energy required to provide psionic energy to new colonies and bases. Native Species Aiur is a planet high in biodiversity and has a large variety of flora and fauna. Known species include; Fauna *Bengalaas *Kal-taar *Kwah-kai *Lombad *Mai-lur *Omhara *Protoss *At least one species of bird *Various aquatic species about the size of leeches. Flora *Alavash *Sammuro fruit *Shuwark tree Geography Aiur is covered with vegetation and has many lush jungles, populated by creatures such as the bengalaas. It has furious seas and stormy weather. Indeed, its summer storms have been known to appear over plateaus and disappear in the blink of an eye.1998-09-11 Chain Lightning. StarCraft Compendium Map Archives. Accessed 2007-11-03. Aiur's atmosphere is slightly heavier than that of most terran worlds though unprotected humans can still survive on the planet. Locations Cities *Mendella (ruins, replaced by a proving ground) Fortresses *Citadel of the Executor *''Khor-shakal'' Landforms *Brushfire Island *Cave of Relics *Eldritch Lake *Garden of Aiur *River of Light *Road of Remembrance Provinces *Antioch *Scion Regions *Asari Hunting Grounds *Ni Monn Adun *Velari **Velari Templar School *Xel'Naga Caverns **Crystal Chamber Temples *Protoss temple (destroyed by zerg) *Temple of the Preservers *Ziggurat Notes In the StarCraft II map editor, there exists a map of Aiur, showing the spread of creep across its surface. However, apart from the creep spread, this map is identical to one of Bel'Shir,Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II Map Editor. (Activision Blizzard) (in English). July 27, 2010 so assessing its validity is difficult. References Protoss homeworld |?—July 2500 }} Protoss Empire capital world |~500—June/July 2500 }} Zerg infested world |April 2500— }} Zerg primary hive world |April—June/July 2500 }} Homeworld}} Capital World}} Primary Hive World}} Category:Planets Category: Protoss Category:Zerg